The look of the panhandler

So you're driving down the street, stop at a light and there on the corner is a panhandler, with his little cardboard sign. What does he look like? I know, I know, you generally try to avoid eye contact and hence don't really look at him, but when he walks behind your car, you know you take a glance in your rearview mirror. So picture in your head for a second what the guy looks like.

So the other day I saw an attractive male panhandler, probably my age or a little older (sad that mid-30s I consider "a little older"). Not hot, I probably wouldn't look twice if I were to see him in the store or movie theater, but in the role of standing by the side of the road holding a cardboard sign I must admit I had to look twice. And then once more. You know, you just don't expect a panhandler to be attractive. I thought it was interesting, anyway.

Ding Dong, the truck is gone!

Julie and I like to abuse pick-up truck owners who live in apartment buildings. Pickups are good for, well, picking things up. Hauling things and helping people move, right? What do people living in apartments have to haul, we frequenly ask. Wouldn't it be cheaper to rent a truck that one time you need it and get something more practical like a Civic for every day driving?

There's this one green truck in our parking lot that has been the bane of my existence. In reality, I don't care if you own a pickup, I really don't. But seriously, it's big. Do you have to park it in the exact middle of the lot? And then, the guy forgets that he has it. Seriously, this truck has not moved an inch in a year- I do not exaggerate, it's been a year. Ok, now I'm one to talk, I know, I owned 2 cars for not one but 2 years, a lot of which one sat in the parking lot doing nothing. But at least I put it in the side lot where people don't tend to park! This guy put his truck smack in the middle of the parking lot and completely forgot about it. There are a few other truck owners who also like to park around there, forcing me to park my little Honda in between two gigantic trucks. Frequently. One cannot see in either direction when backing out if they are in between two gigantic trucks.

And then, just like that, on Wednesday night I trot out to my car headed for choir and the truck is just gone! I imagine something like this happened: Wife says hey, didn't you used to have a truck? Husband says oh yeah, wonder what happened to it? They both look out the window and lo and behold, in the middle of the parking lot, there's their truck. Husband says maybe I ought to move it. Wife says let's just sell it. They sell it and bada bing, the world is a better place.

I get happy about it all over again everytime I see green truck-free parking lot.

So much for that conversation

So this morning I walk into work and the girl at the reception desk says to me- sad, the Bronco’s live mascot died yesterday. I kind of looked at her blankly and said um, I didn’t even know the Broncos had a live mascot. She says yeah, you know the white horse that’s always prancing around during games? I said um, I’ve never actually watched a Broncos game, actually.

Oh to have perfect vision...

My contacts and I had a serious fight the other morning. We’re not really on speaking terms at this point. I don’t expect us to make up soon. I mean, you take a new lens out of the box, you kind of expect it to work. You know, go in your eye, help you see, not cause pain. I didn’t think that was too much to ask out of a brand new, just out of the package contact lens. I seem to be wrong, however. I didn’t throw away the offending lens, I’m hoping that it will see the error of its ways and when I give it a second chance, all will again be well between us.

Tagged

Ok, so techcnially I got tagged like 5 times over the last few months. If you're one of those lucky people who always get those emails from me with a bunch of random questions you are supposed to answer, you know I typically love those things. But for whatever reason I never got around to doing them. So anyway, here's one.

8 favorite TV shows

1. Numbers
2. Star Trek: Voyager
3. Smallville
4. Home Improvement
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
6. Ghost Whisperer
7. Star Trek: The Next Generation
8. Frasier

8 Books you recommend
1. Mistborn
2. Harry Potter
3. Count of Monte Cristo
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. To Say Nothing of the Dog
6. Leave it to Psmith
7. anything by GeorgetteHeyer
8. The Theif

8 things that happened yesterday
1. stayed up until 1 am finishing a book
2. went to Estes Park with Julie
3. bought a superb cookie in Estes Park
4. saw some co-workers in Estes Park
5. watched some excellent Voyager episdoes
6. never got around to eating dinner
7. played the piano, including a bit from the new song I'm learning
8. um...went to bed

8 things to look forward to
1. eating the superb cookie I bought yesterday
2. my next choir concert
3. dinner
4. cruise in May
5. reading the last Harry Potter book again
6. visiting my sister in UT
7. the new Star Trek movie
8. Phantom of the Opera

8 things on my wishlist
1. sewing machine
2. knowing where I'll be this time next year
3. Thumbelina and some Cary Grant movies
4. to be able to fit into that one skirt that no longer fits me:(
5. for Shannon to rejoin the Ten Tenors
6. ooh, also for David & Liam to rejoin the Ten Tenors- what were they thinking?!?!
7. hmmm...
8. I don't know what else

8 things I love about fall
1. crunchy leaves
2. Christmas is approaching
3. pulling out my cute long sleeved shirts
4. sweaters
5. actually...
6. I don't really
7. like fall
8.that much

One year older and wiser too....

Alright, well yesterday while contemplating the fact that I am now unquestionably closer to 30 than 20, I decided to come out of blog exile and once again grace the internet with my presence. I know, I know, no need to thank me.

So, without further ado, I present 27 things I did during my 27th year:

1. got a new job
2. went to Mexico
3. got a horrific sunburn and therefore now have charming freckles on my shoulders
4. read a ridiculous number of books
5. one of them being the Count of Monte Cristo, numbering 1,465 pages or something like that
6. went to 2 midnight movie premiers: Indiana Jones and Twilight
7. was released from my favorite calling
8. saw The Ten Tenors in a fabulously live concert
9. learned that Shannon was leaving TTT, making for a tragic day indeed
10. saw Jim Brickman in concert- not the greatest event ever, but he did play Angel Eyes
11. was called as alto section leader in the chorale, a job which I enjoy quite a bit
12. was also called as ward rep in the stake public affairs council...no comment how how I like that...
13. went to Utah a couple times, and saw a great play called "She Loves Me"
14. learned the rest of a great song on the piano that I had previously deemed too hard
15. watched seasons 1-4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, remembering what a fun show that is
16. visited my grandparents in Kansas, which turned out to be the last time to see the farm as I remember it as they moved into town a week later
17. finally got the dents fixed on my car
18. wrote in my journal a grand total of 5 times
19. decided that I really don't have any embarrassing stories
20. decided that I am still afraid of dogs, so I should just own it
21. took many walks in the summer, discovering what a charming and slightly quirky neighborhood I live in
22. got a raise
23. finally sold my old car
24. took a day off work to go to Elitches, only to find it and every other water park in the city closed and instead swam in my complex pool
25. discovered that my ears are still pierced, and that I do like wearing earrings
26. decided I was lactose intolerant and quit buying milk
27. turned a year older one day at a time

Tip o' the day: Try to come up with 27 things you did last year. It's harder than it sounds!

Hanging up the hat...

That's right folks, no more 5 hour church for me! No more worrying about who's teaching on Sunday, or if the visiting teaching lists are being passed out, or if anybody did their visiting teaching. No more key to the clerk's office.

And I'm going to miss it all. Especially the keys.

I've been relief society president for 2 years and 2 months now. That's a long time for a single's ward. I don't know if I know how to attend church as a civilian, if you will. What? I just show up when the meeting starts, sit through all the lessons and go home? Really? Today many people asked me if I was relieved. I told them all not yet. Give me a few days to settle down. I did cry when the Bishop actually released me in sacrament meeting. I had the new president over this afternoon (who I know and have complete confidence in) and probably overwhelmed her talking for 3 hours about the relief society. And I felt more strongly than ever what I think every relief society president should be obsessed with and that is God's love for the sisers in her relief society. As I looked over the sisters today, and taught the lesson, I felt so much love for them that I knew came from God and even though I'm not going anywhere, I'll still see the same people every week, I feel like I will miss them. It's kind of strange, really. I know it won't be the same, and this week I'm very grateful for the opportunity I had to serve as the relief society president in this ward for so long.

And hope a little bit that it doesn't happen again. :)